The subject of three news reports over the last two days, all of which indicate that Florida Gators head coach Will Muschamp plans to fire him at season’s end following Saturday’s game against Florida State, offensive coordinator Brent Pease still made his scheduled weekly appearance with the media on Tuesday.

Mixed in with 11 football-related queries, Pease was asked 17 different questions about his current job status and whether he believes he has a future with the Gators past this season. He appeared forthright in his answers, often providing thoughtful and (one would assume) honest replies. Check out the entire unedited transcript below.

Q:What was your reaction to Will saying that the offense’s trouble has infected the entire team?BP: “He has a point in the fact that you got to continue to change the game. I think, one, we went out, got ahead early and then we falter and not find some consistency and continue to find points here or there. I guess you struggle with confidence at certain points in time.”

Q:Do you believe you’ll be back next season?BP: “I mean, I would hope so, but I mean, I’ll kind of direct that at that time later on probably after this game.”

Q:Do you feel like you’ve earned the right to be back?BP: “Yeah.”

Q:Why is that?BP: “Why is that? I think, you know, you look at the first year and some of the situations and knowing the body of work and not just one, a game-to-game basis and situations we’ve been under. I’d hope that any evaluations are looked at that way. But, you know, I understand things, too. It’s not like. I know you got to win and have success. If it’s not meant to be… I came into this with friends, and I’m walking out of it with friends.”

Q:Will said that it’s been kind of hard to judge the development of players on offense because of all the injuries and stuff like that. Does that maybe apply to the job you’ve done as well?BP: “I don’t look at it that way. I kind of look at it like it’s tough to judge the older kids and how they’ve developed because they’re hurt, you know. And then when you look at the younger kids, it still takes a certain amount of time to build fundamentals and get better and better with experience. You don’t like to put them under that fire continually with just game reps where people… You know, you like to do it in practice reps. You look at someone like Kelvin [Taylor]. I think he’s gotten better because he’s practiced on a week-to-week basis and played in games. It’s hard to probably look at someone like Skyler [Mornhinweg] because he probably didn’t have as many practiced reps built up. Now all of a sudden you’re playing in these game situations where it’s make it or break it.”

Q:Is it unfair to evaluate kind of some of the criticism you’ve gotten and stuff like that based on having two quarterbcaks out, three tackles, a running back?BP: “I mean, you’d like to believe so. I mean, but I don’t really know if that’s my judgment. It’s maybe something, some substance you can use later. You don’t want to use it as an excuse because you’ve got to play with the kids you have.”

Q:Have you been able to run the offense that you wanted to run coming in here?BP: “I mean, I think there’s some, yeah… We’ve done the things that we’ve done in the past. I think have you had all the components in place to do some of that stuff? No, not exactly. I mean, but you’ve got to get players and build them and continually have depth in certain situations.”

Q:Are you and Muschamp on the same page offensively right now?BP: “Yeah, I know what his philosophy is.”

Q:Are you operating under his philosophy the way he wants you to?BP: “You’d have to ask him that, but I believe so. I mean, I think, I mean, I don’t know why there’s a question now on it as much as he’s always said philosophically we’re on the same page.”

Q:Any regrets about not taking the Alabama job? You could’ve gone either way.BP: “[Laughing] Not taking the Alabama job? No, I mean…”

Q:Do you think about it?BP: “I mean, yeah, you think about it. But you look back on it and I know why I came here. And I know what sold me on the fact. So, you can’t look back at something like that. I mean, that’s a situation of what if. And I still did the right thing for me and my family and the reasons I did it. And you’ve got to continue to go from there and build.”

Q:Can you just talk about what it’s like for a coach in a situation like this? Because you do have a family, you have kids in school, you have other people besides you that are probably affected by this.BP: “I guess you look at it when you make a move. There’s always a lot of positives. My kids come out here and they enjoy being here. My daughter’s now in college out in this part of the country. Obviously my wife likes it here. And Gainesville is a great place. I’ve always said this: the administration here has been good to me. It’s one of the best. It’s nothing you can complain about. I think sometimes in a year like this, when you’re in this kind of situation, you got to do the best you can and continue to grow and get better and understand what you can’t do. You find out some things that you can’t do along the way. But family-wise, being a coach, you’re kind of used to moving around a little bit and making some transition changes along the way. My family has handled it all the time.”

Q:Defense gave up 429 yards on Saturday but the offense was getting kind of scapegoated after the game. What’s been your reaction to that?BP: “I look at it from a team standpoint. Our defense has held us in games ever since I’ve been here. We got to either find that time where we move along and move ahead and get the points we need to win. Just like the other day at the end, I mean I think we’re moving down and can go ahead, at least tie the game up. A couple of throws previous to the last one we were close. We didn’t get it done. I don’t know if… The thing you never want to do is look into a finger-pointing situation, and I don’t look at it that way. I still always look at it as we’re a staff, we’re a team. That’s how it is. If it’s coming my way, then it’s coming my way. That’s something you’ve just got to kind of take the blows.”

Q:Just a little hypothetical… Would you feel like a scapegoat if you didn’t make it to next season?BP: “I mean, I don’t know. That’s a tough question to answer.”

Q:I mean, when you look at the injuries and what you dealt with last year, a first-year starting quarterback…BP: “Yeah. Right now, I’d say no. I mean, I guess we always address that question later.”

Q:Has Muschamp given you any indication of your future here?BP: “No, I think, I mean, not really. He’s like, we got a game to worry about in Florida State. It’s like he said. He said, I think, to you guys [Monday], evaluation wise we’ll do that at the end of season, just like probably with coaches and players and everything else.”

Q:Do you find it interesting though, three losses ago, he kind of came out in full support of you and the rest of the staff, saying this was the same group of guys that helped us 11 games last year…and he hasn’t done the same thing in recent weeks?BP: “I don’t sit there and analyze what Will says as much. I mean, I see him daily and we talk and we’re probably in a different setting than the questions you guys are directing towards me and I guess your views on how he’s approaching. I mean, I know what I deal with him on a daily basis. I guess that’s where it’s at – my feelings are.”

45 Comments

Pease’s comments about he and Muschamp being on the same page re offensive philosophy and how Muschamp has always said as much caught my eye, especially in light of Muschamp throwing the offense under the bus yesterday. It was as if Pease was saying Muschamp is as much to blame as he is, despite the fact that Pease will be made the scapegoat. I believe we’ll see more of the same garbage on offense in 2014 if Muschamp returns.

I don’t see what’s wrong with wanting to control the line of scrimmage and run first to open up the pass. The only problem is that we don’t have the QB/receiver combination that we need to throw well. I was proud to see some shots to the end zone on the first trip to the red zone last weekend, but we just didn’t have the talent to convert the plays.

If you want to continue to run a spread offense then you’re right. If you want to run a pro-style offense, then you’re wrong. Sure we could’ve ran a lot more spread oriented plays and maybe got a few more wins, although debatable since Meyer couldn’t even win with his own players at the end. The problem with that is how do you recruit a big time QB and 5 star receivers when all they see is an offense that requires receivers to block more than catch and QB to rarely throw.

can slowly move from spread to pro style, it has been 3 years, he should have his people in there mostly at this point, and if he still hasn’t yet he could continue running some spread until he has all the pieces in place. he puts the heavy package in when really wants to do pro-set and that helps a lot. As explosive as the fun and gun was, Spurrier and even Zook didn’t do spread offenses, and the first year Meyer only sort-of did until he got the personnel he wanted to really open up his playbook. I am not an expert in these matters, but I have seen the successful coaches manage their systems to fit their personnel, not force their personnel into doing something they just aren’t capable of

Many times when the offense was stalled there were things that could be done within Muschamp’s philosophy that were never done.

mis-direction
play action passes

to name a couple.

Muschamp has repeatedly said two things–and only two:
control the line of scrimmage
more explosive plays

Like all defensive coaches he likes to shorten the game when he has a lead. As some fool wrote on another site, when he gets up by 14-17 points he goes conservative. Well, horse puckey. When has he been up up by 14-17 points this year? When did he last blow a 14-17 point lead?

Personally, it doesn’t matter to me what Muschamp’s offensive philosophy is, I just know that for 3 straight years, with 2 different OCs, UF has had one of the worst offenses in the entire NCAA! So whatever he believes or is trying to do is failing and failing miserably. And that is a fact!

That was the one answer that jumped out at me of them all as well, and between the injuries, maybe a reason he won’t be scapegoated, and maybe Champ will change philosophy a bit. If champ is going to stick with that philosophy, getting a decent OC will be impossible to replace Pease.

The fact that he understands WM philosophy and they are on the same page means that the offense he is calling is the offense WM wants. That is extremely telling, and if it continues even under new OC it is doom. Next year will be WM last I am certain.

Wow how can someone rise up the coaching ranks and not be able to express a thought coherently. How are our QB’s suppose to learn to read defensives and any type of offensive scheme or game plan from this “yeah i guess so, yeah I mean I think so, I mean, I don’t know, No I think I mean not really”

I’m at the point where I’d keep Pease another year and look for a better o-line coach. If you read one of the articles on O Sentinel, Muschamp called out Pease for throwing on a first down. Oh the horror! How can you expect an O Coordinator to be successful when a head coach with no offensive experience is shackling him? He’s made some crazy calls, but starting to wonder if it’s Muschamp exercising his veto power over the offense and coaching not to put the D in a hole, rather than coaching to take advantage of the run game baiting the D into crowding the box and striking with a pass.

At the end of the day, we’ve had a tough run, but it’s not something that can’t be fixed. Whether Pease and Muschamp are the people to do it, the jury is out (in my mind), but firing an OC after one year is one way to ensure we don’t get another primo guy and give him any confidence…

This is Pease’s second year. Starting to wonder if it can even be fixed with a couple of Band-aids. Might get a little better next year but fixed is back to winning some SEC east titles at very least. While we are on a slide our rivals usually get stronger, makes it that much more difficult to get back on track.

What’s going to save his job next year….8-9 wins? With the schedule we have and the way these guys look on the field its gonna be tough to get the right OC, OL coach.

Damn…that was actually “sad” to read. I read his clustered and disjointed responses as a rare glimpse of honesty, especially a coach. I kind of agree with Luke, though in that Pease and Muschamp are almost a.package deal at this point. I’m in favor of continuity for one more year but only with Muschamp being stripped of veto power, o line coach gone.

To everyone who are blindly assuming that Muschamp is handcuffing Pease in the play calling, I’m sure you read the same thing that I did after the Missouri game I think. It was when Tyler Murphy changed the play on the 1 yard line and was pushed back to the 5. Muschamp was quoted by Pease as coming over the headset and asking what play was called. It’s pretty obvious that he didn’t have his thumb on Pease then.

maybe Muschamp isn’t in on every single play call, but the question Pease answered said they were on the same page philosophically. Pease understands what kind of game WM wants the offensive role to be, and so Pease calls the plays accordingly. You don’t have to micro manage to handcuff, it was clear to Pease at least, that he was calling the kind of games MW wanted him to.

Pease can be in the bounds of WM philosophy and still coordinate the offense poorly and call the wrong plays at the wrong time. I’m not saying that it’s all Pease’s fault bc we haven’t had the oline to compete since he’s been here bc of low numbers before WM and now injuries. My point is that there is nothing wrong with wanting to be a power run team that finds success throwing the ball bc of the respect that brings.

Having no idea of the true dynamics of the relationship, and just parsing the comment WM and Pease have said in various press conferences, I have no idea whether WM is handcuffing him with vetos, whether he is handcuffing him with philosophy, or if Pease is calling it all on his own and also agrees with WM philosophy (which, I suspect if he didn’t he wouldn’t have taken the job). Whatever it is there is something that just doesn’t mesh there.

If Champ stays we get a 6-6 2014 year and (if we are lucky) a birth in the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl. Maybe a trip to lovely Shreveport. WM looks and acts like an angry drunk at last call when he realizes he is going home alone. Does he ever sound like he has hings under control…ever? And Pease? He sure does “mean” well. This is our leaders, this is who the recruits, fans and current players are suppose to support. Stealing a line from WM…THIS is real.

I don’t think any of the actual reasons for the piss poor season matter anymore.
Muschamp makes $3mil/yr to win football games.
Pease makes $1mil/yr to win football games.

A 4-8 season with the following records:
1st loss to Vandy at home since 1945
1st loss to Div2 FCS (and at home) EVER
0-3 against UGA
1st losing season since 1979
end of 22 yr bowl streak

Who cares why at this point. All heads should roll, fresh coaching staff. They just didn’t do their jobs. Ridiculous. It can get worse with more of the same. We couldn’t pinpoint why Zook sucked, he just did. Same situation. It is time.

if it were something like Billy D having a rash of injuries and having a 10-20 type season, that would be one thing, he has proven that would be a fluke. The problem with WM is it seems more like the 11-2 season was the fluke and he hasn’t proven himself and cant get the offense out of the bottom 10 teams in FBS.

There are parts of the game a head coach should be present in. EVERY PART. WM stood 30 yards from the line of scrimmage during offensive plays and talked on his headset with his arms folded. There were three or four backup quarterbacks calling in plays. Nobody was there to coach the offensive side of the game. On the defensive side, there were four coaches, including WM, HOT ON THE LOS. Now, does Willy Boy think he can win like that? The college game is full of momentum and mentality. The best coaches know when to take that momentum. Oh, and you can’t ice the ball when the game is close or you are playing from behind! Our coach’s game presence needs to show improvement.

To be honest, as dissappointed as I am by the season, I am more dissappointed by the “Gator Nation” itself. I agree that no one should be happy about the performance of the team and losses to Vandy and GS are very tough to swallow and especially at home. But, the only thing worse than what’s happened on the field is what has happened on many of the boards at sites like this one i.e., Gator Sports.com, Alligator Army, etc.

Let’s get real, recruits cannot make it to every game and are busy visiting other schools, playing ball, etc. But when they read these message boards, they are hearing all they need to hear to change their mind and go elsewhere. I have not doubt that if recruits saw a united fan base that “sticks together in all kinds of weather” they would be more impressed with UF. Even though many on these boards don’t understand that injuries impact you, the recruits do. But by many of you expressing your frustrations on these sites, you are only further hampering our ability to rebuild the base of talent that we need to be elite. If you wanna complain, send your emails/letters to FOLEY and MACHEN and stay away from the boards. Regardless of who is the coach, we need talent. Support the players and the coaches, whoever they may be.

Seriously? Recruits are so busy visiting other schools that they are trolling all of the local school websites that have fans commenting? They have already announced there will be some kind of shakeup at the end of the season, do you really think even if some recruit did find this particular or that particular website and this or that article with whatever posting (sure, they’re taking time to read 80 comments on a single article about some school event) is unaware of the turmoil?

constantly complaining about fans complaining about what is going on with a team they are very passionate about and is underperforming all expectations is just silly.

Take twelve starters, including the first and second string quarterback, off of any team in the country and I quarantee the Gators will play head-to-head with them. It’s a shame that someone’s head has to roll for a situation that no one would be successful in.
I’m sure several will throw the, “What about 2011 and 2012” card. Those year’s problems have been well documented but there were seceral problems including an under achieving Jeff Driskel and an inept offensive line.

Chris,
Not sure where you pulled your information? They may have only had 46 scholarship players but I sure have not seen where they lost their first and second string quarterback or 10 other starters of which at least five were true impact players and team leaders.

they have 19 scholarship players that didn’t play, of which I believe 12 were first or second string if I remember correctly, it was about 2/3 of them, and about half were starters. and even if only a couple were starters, I doubt they have more than 1 or 2 scholarship players that have the talent and athleticism of our walk ons, let alone OUR scholarship players, of which we had just about 25-30 more on scholarship available than they did.

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